« Back to article

Print this article

When Bollywood went to Kashmir

It's closer than Switzerland and infinitely prettier, but the war and strife give the lovely Kashmir an edge it could do without. As a result, very few films are shot there.

Piyush Jha's Sikandar, releasing this week, is one set in Kashmir, and here's a look at ten memorable Kashmir movies:

Tahaan

Santosh Sivan's delightful film looks at Kashmir through the eyes of a little boy, one who traipses merrily through the valley treating its splendor with everday casualness.

Lakshya

Farhan Akhtar's interesting yet flawed Lakshya is set around the 1999 Kargil War, and Hrithik Roshan plays a Lieutenant leading his troop to victory.

Mission Kashmir

Vidhu Vinod Chopra's visually lush Mission Kashmir, interestingly enough, also starred Lakshya-couple Hrithik and Preity Zinta. Sanjay Dutt, however, was the real star of the show.

Khamosh

Many years before he made Mission Kashmir, Vidhu Vinod Chopra directed this wonderful murder mystery about a film crew who go to Kashmir to shoot a film -- and foul play is soon afoot.

Kasme Vaade

This Ramesh Behl film features Amitabh Bachchan in a double role alongside Rakhee. The twisty plot sees one Bachchan killed and his criminal doppelganger hired to take his place.

Himalay Se Ooncha

One of India's only mountaineering adventure films, this one stars Sunil Dutt as Vijay, a mountain climber with the courage of a lion. Having sworn off climbing, a plane crash forces him to go on a rescue mission.

Jab Jab Phool Khile

Directed by Suraj Prakash, this entertaining romance starred Shashi Kapoor as a Kashmiri boatman who falls in love with Nanda, playing a rich tourist. The film was a smash hit, as was the music by Kalyandji-Anandji.

Kashmir Ki Kali

This rollicking Shakti Samanta film featured Shammi Kapoor as a rich brat. Fed up with marriage proposals, he escapes to his Kashmir bungalow where he is swept off his feet by the lovely Sharmila Tagore -- in her first Hindi film.

Haqeeqat

Chetan Anand's iconic war film was set in Ladakh, and featured an interesting cast with Balraj Sahni, Dharmendra, Sanjay Khan and Vijay Anand. The film's music includes the anthemic song Ab tumhaare hawaale watan saathiyo.

Kalpana

This 1960 film features Ashok Kumar as a widower who goes to Kashmir on vacation where he encounters and is smitten by Kalpana, played by Padmini. The film starts off as a beguiling romance but ends in twisty melodrama.